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Debt
 9 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2022
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
Debt DebtThe nature and terms of our debt instruments and credit facilities are described in detail in Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021. Other than as described below, there were no material changes in the terms of our debt instruments during the nine months ended June 30, 2022.
Long-term debt at June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2021 consisted of the following:
June 30, 2022September 30, 2021
 (In thousands)
Unsecured 0.625% Senior Notes, due March 2023
$1,100,000 $1,100,000 
Unsecured 3.00% Senior Notes, due 2027
500,000 500,000 
Unsecured 2.625% Senior Notes, due 2029
500,000 300,000 
Unsecured 1.50% Senior Notes, due 2031
600,000 600,000 
Unsecured 5.95% Senior Notes, due 2034
200,000 200,000 
Unsecured 5.50% Senior Notes, due 2041
400,000 400,000 
Unsecured 4.15% Senior Notes, due 2043
500,000 500,000 
Unsecured 4.125% Senior Notes, due 2044
750,000 750,000 
Unsecured 4.30% Senior Notes, due 2048
600,000 600,000 
Unsecured 4.125% Senior Notes, due 2049
450,000 450,000 
Unsecured 3.375% Senior Notes, due 2049
500,000 500,000 
Unsecured 2.85% Senior Notes, due 2052
600,000 — 
Floating-rate term loan, due April 2022
— 200,000 
Floating-rate Senior Notes, due March 2023
1,100,000 1,100,000 
Medium-term note Series A, 1995-1, 6.67%, due 2025
10,000 10,000 
Unsecured 6.75% Debentures, due 2028
150,000 150,000 
Finance lease obligations52,196 18,739 
Total long-term debt8,012,196 7,378,739 
Less:
Original issue discount on unsecured senior notes and debentures3,760 2,811 
Debt issuance cost47,842 45,271 
Current maturities2,201,430 2,400,452 
$5,759,164 $4,930,205 
On October 1, 2021, we completed a public offering of $600 million of 2.85% senior notes due 2052, with an effective interest rate of 2.58%, after giving effect to the offering costs and settlement of our interest rate swaps. The net proceeds from the offering, after the underwriting discount and offering expenses, of $589.8 million were used for general corporate purposes.
On January 14, 2022, we completed a public offering of $200 million of 2.625% senior notes due 2029, with an effective interest rate of 2.54%, after giving effect to the offering costs. The net proceeds from the offering, after the underwriting discount and offering expenses, of $200.8 million were used to repay our $200 million floating-rate term loan on January 18, 2022.
Short-term debt
We utilize short-term debt to provide cost-effective, short-term financing until it can be replaced with a balance of long-term debt and equity financing that achieves the Company’s desired capital structure with an equity-to-total-capitalization ratio between 50% and 60%, inclusive of long-term and short-term debt. Our short-term borrowing requirements are driven primarily by construction work in progress and the seasonal nature of the natural gas business.
Our short-term borrowing requirements are satisfied through a combination of a $1.5 billion commercial paper program and four committed revolving credit facilities with third-party lenders that provide $2.5 billion of total working capital funding.
The primary source of our funding is our commercial paper program, which is supported by a five-year unsecured $1.5 billion credit facility. On March 31, 2022, we amended this agreement to (i) extend the maturity date from March 31, 2026 to March 31, 2027 and (ii) replace the London interbank offered rate (the LIBOR Rate) with the forward-looking term rate based on the secured overnight financing rate (the SOFR Rate) as the interest rate benchmark. This facility now bears interest at a base rate or at a SOFR-based rate for the applicable interest period, plus a margin ranging from zero percent to 0.25 percent for base rate advances or a margin ranging from 0.75 percent to 1.25 percent for SOFR-based advances, based on the Company’s credit ratings. Additionally, the facility contains a $250 million accordion feature, which provides the opportunity to increase the total committed loan to $1.75 billion. At June 30, 2022 there were no amounts outstanding under our commercial paper program.
We also have a $900 million three-year unsecured revolving credit facility which is used to provide additional working capital funding. On March 31, 2022, we amended this agreement to (i) extend the maturity date from March 31, 2024 to March 31, 2025 and (ii) replace the LIBOR Rate with the SOFR Rate as the interest rate benchmark. This facility now bears interest at a base rate or at a SOFR-based rate for the applicable interest period, plus a margin ranging from zero percent to 0.25 percent for base rate advances or a margin ranging from 0.75 percent to 1.25 percent for SOFR-based advances, based on the Company's credit ratings. Additionally, the facility contains a $100 million accordion feature, which provides the opportunity to increase the total committed loan to $1.0 billion. At June 30, 2022, there were no borrowings outstanding under this facility.
Additionally, we have a $50 million 364-day unsecured facility, which was renewed April 1, 2022 and is used to provide working capital funding. There were no borrowings outstanding under this facility as of June 30, 2022.
Finally, we have a $50 million 364-day unsecured revolving credit facility, which was renewed March 31, 2022 and is used to issue letters of credit and to provide working capital funding. At June 30, 2022, there were no borrowings outstanding under this facility; however, outstanding letters of credit reduced the total amount available to us to $44.4 million.
Debt covenants
The availability of funds under these credit facilities is subject to conditions specified in the respective credit agreements, all of which we currently satisfy. These conditions include our compliance with financial covenants and the continued accuracy of representations and warranties contained in these agreements. We are required by the financial covenants in each of these facilities to maintain, at the end of each fiscal quarter, a ratio of total-debt-to-total-capitalization of no greater than 70 percent. At June 30, 2022, our total-debt-to-total-capitalization ratio, as defined in the agreements, was 47 percent. In addition, both the interest margin and the fee that we pay on unused amounts under certain of these facilities are subject to adjustment depending upon our credit ratings.
These credit facilities and our public indentures contain usual and customary covenants for our business, including covenants substantially limiting liens, substantial asset sales and mergers. Additionally, our public debt indentures relating to our senior notes and debentures, as well as certain of our revolving credit agreements, each contain a default provision that is triggered if outstanding indebtedness arising out of any other credit agreements in amounts ranging from in excess of $15 million to in excess of $100 million becomes due by acceleration or if not paid at maturity. We were in compliance with all of our debt covenants as of June 30, 2022. If we were unable to comply with our debt covenants, we would likely be required to repay our outstanding balances on demand, provide additional collateral or take other corrective actions.